My Own Worst Enemy*
There used to be a stigma attached to the film actor that made the transition to television. It was always the other way around. While the world of television may not be as glamorous as the world of movies, a lot of that stigma is gone (I thank The Soprano’s and HBO in general for that). By almost all accounts we’ve emerged from the wasteland that was the reality soaked TV of the late 90’s and early part of this decade to a new golden age of television. Production value has never been higher, big name talents are now back on TV, story-lines and programs themselves are just better in general.
One of the big stars of yesterday returned to TV this season, Christian Slater. This guy was huge in the 80’s and early 90’s. Think about the list: The Legend of Billie Jean, Little Nikita, Gleaming the Cube, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Broken Arrow, Heathers, Young Guns 2, True Romance, Interview with the Vampire, Bed of Roses, and one of my presonal favorite movies of the era Pump Up The Volume. This guy was huge, then he had some personal problems went away.
Well now he’s back in a very interesting spy thriller, My Own Worst Enemy. In the show Slater plays one man with two very different personalities, Edward and Henry. One is a secret agent and one is a mild mannered family man. The government had the ability to switch his personalities when it needed it’s spy and shut it off when it didn’t. Edward/Henry become aware of each other and the government can’t switch back and forth anymore, which leads to some interesting predicaments both at home and on the job.
I didn’t watch My Own Worst Enemy from the beginning for some reason that escapes me now, but I am catching up online and I am really enjoying the show. Despite what could be hilarious hi-jinx when the analyst is put into the middle of a fire fight in Moscow or when the secret agent is teaching the family man’s wife some new sexual positions, My Own Worst Enemy avoids comedy and focuses on the confusion and the heartache caused by the situations.
While Slater is the star, it boasts an impressive supporting cast including two Oscar nominated actors in Alfie Woodard and James Cromwell.
If you aren’t watching My Own Worst Enemy go online and check out the first episode. I’d be surprised if you didn’t like it and weren’t hooked after watching a few more.
*About 15 minutes after I posted this, I saw NBC announced list of cancelations. Looks like My Own Worst Enemy was on the list. No news on weather or not all 9 episodes will air. Too bad.
3 years ago